Rockies' Blackmon sets single-season record for RBIs by leadoff hitter

Charlie Blackmon crushed his 37th home run of the season Friday night in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and carved his name into the record books in the process.

The Colorado Rockies center fielder has acted as the leadoff man for 154 of the 157 games he's played, and he's now driven in more runs than any other leadoff batter in MLB history with 101, passing Darin Erstad who drove in 100 with the Angels in 2000.

While his season total is 102, he drove in a single run from the third slot in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though RBIs have lost their luster as a valuable counting stat, leadoff hitters seldom drive in many runs on account of kicking off the game with the bases empty, and later following the bottom of the team's lineup.

Fortunately for Blackmon, the Rockies hold the fourth-best on-base percentage as a team this season with .337, which likely plays into his success.

Also worth remembering is that he set the record in style. His two-run blast traveled 454 feet and landed in the second deck at Coors Field.

Blackmon has been one of the toughest outs in the National League, batting .329/.398/.602 with 37 bombs, 14 stolen bases, and, of course, 102 RBIs. In addition to that, the mullet-clad masher has 35 doubles and an astounding 14 triples.